Cold weather good for hunters

After a slow start because of warm weather well into December, West Alabama’s deer season is approaching normal harvests thanks to a cold snap in the last week or two.

Dusty Compton

By Robert DeWitt

Published: Sunday, December 30, 2012 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 11:30 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | Deer season finally kicked into gear with a burst of cold weather, West Alabama deer processors say.

“Starting the weekend of the SEC Championship Game, we had 10 days of 75 degrees, and that hurt,” William Bambarger of Wild Game Processing in Eutaw said. “But I started out way ahead, and I’m back ahead of where I was last year, and last year was the best year I’ve had.”

Bambarger processed more than 1,000 deer last year and thinks he will again this year.

“They’re fat and they’re healthy,” Bambarger said. “The weather’s been giving them a fit, but we’re ahead of where we were last year.”

Darrell Cook of Stump Hollow Deer Processing, located in north Hale County on Highway 25, noticed that business has picked up.

“This is the time to go,” Cook said. “They’ve been bringing them in right and left ever since that cold weather came in. Deer are really moving. It seems like they’re moving right up in the middle of the day.”

Chris Grant of Grant’s Deer Processing in Jena said a slow year got a jump start.

“A lot of people said in the beginning they weren’t seeing anything,” Grant said. “I think it was because we hadn’t had any cold weather. The first two weeks of December, I said, ‘This isn’t looking good.’ When we got closer to Christmas, it exploded.”

That’s normal for West Alabama, Cook said. The number of deer he’s taken in indicates he’ll get about the same number he usually processes.

“It was time,” Cook said. “It usually hits a little before Christmas.”

In addition to colder weather, Grant said he’s seen signs the deer are rutting.

Customers aren’t sharing a lot of information about where they’re killing deer. But indications are that they are hunting on food plots and other openings, Grant said.

“Deer appear to be feeding mostly in food plots now,” he said. “But they were fat to begin the year. There must have been a pretty good crop of acorns. We haven’t seen any skinny deer. They look healthy.”

As Christmas approached, a higher percentage of the deer brought in were bucks, Grant said.

The bow season yielded a good harvest this year and the youth hunt appeared to be successful. But right after the first of the season, the number of deer brought in decreased.

“As far as the volume of year, it’s been slow,” Grant said. “I’ve talked to other processor, and they say they’ve only had about half of the deer they had last year. We’re not off that much.”

The recent push gives him reason for optimism.

Normally, January is our best month, so we’re looking forward to what that brings,” he said.

For Cook, the push began the day after Christmas.

“Wednesday when it was so windy one of our customers said he saw more that day than any other day,” Cook said.

The deer don’t seem to be coming from any particular area. Hunting success seems to be fairly evenly distributed.

Deer are fat, and he’s seen some good weights. His largest deer weighed 233 pounds and several more have come in at between 190 and 200 pounds. He has caped out 15 to 20 deer so far for mounting.

Cook also believes the deer are rutting now.

“Their necks are swollen up,” he said. “They’re in full rut around here.”

Earlier in the season, deer were feeding mostly on acorns, Cook said. A few deer still have acorns in their stomachs. But beginning about two weeks ago, deer appeared to be drifting toward food plots. Many appear to be eating natural browse as well.

<p>TUSCALOOSA | Deer season finally kicked into gear with a burst of cold weather, West Alabama deer processors say.</p><p>“Starting the weekend of the SEC Championship Game, we had 10 days of 75 degrees, and that hurt,” William Bambarger of Wild Game Processing in Eutaw said. “But I started out way ahead, and I'm back ahead of where I was last year, and last year was the best year I've had.”</p><p>Bambarger processed more than 1,000 deer last year and thinks he will again this year.</p><p>“They're fat and they're healthy,” Bambarger said. “The weather's been giving them a fit, but we're ahead of where we were last year.”</p><p>Darrell Cook of Stump Hollow Deer Processing, located in north Hale County on Highway 25, noticed that business has picked up.</p><p>“This is the time to go,” Cook said. “They've been bringing them in right and left ever since that cold weather came in. Deer are really moving. It seems like they're moving right up in the middle of the day.”</p><p>Chris Grant of Grant's Deer Processing in Jena said a slow year got a jump start.</p><p>“A lot of people said in the beginning they weren't seeing anything,” Grant said. “I think it was because we hadn't had any cold weather. The first two weeks of December, I said, 'This isn't looking good.' When we got closer to Christmas, it exploded.”</p><p>That's normal for West Alabama, Cook said. The number of deer he's taken in indicates he'll get about the same number he usually processes.</p><p>“It was time,” Cook said. “It usually hits a little before Christmas.”</p><p>In addition to colder weather, Grant said he's seen signs the deer are rutting.</p><p>“Everybody we're talking to says they're starting to chase a little,” Grant said.</p><p>Customers aren't sharing a lot of information about where they're killing deer. But indications are that they are hunting on food plots and other openings, Grant said.</p><p>“Deer appear to be feeding mostly in food plots now,” he said. “But they were fat to begin the year. There must have been a pretty good crop of acorns. We haven't seen any skinny deer. They look healthy.”</p><p>As Christmas approached, a higher percentage of the deer brought in were bucks, Grant said.</p><p>The bow season yielded a good harvest this year and the youth hunt appeared to be successful. But right after the first of the season, the number of deer brought in decreased.</p><p>“As far as the volume of year, it's been slow,” Grant said. “I've talked to other processor, and they say they've only had about half of the deer they had last year. We're not off that much.”</p><p>The recent push gives him reason for optimism.</p><p>Normally, January is our best month, so we're looking forward to what that brings,” he said.</p><p>For Cook, the push began the day after Christmas.</p><p>“Wednesday when it was so windy one of our customers said he saw more that day than any other day,” Cook said.</p><p>The deer don't seem to be coming from any particular area. Hunting success seems to be fairly evenly distributed.</p><p>Deer are fat, and he's seen some good weights. His largest deer weighed 233 pounds and several more have come in at between 190 and 200 pounds. He has caped out 15 to 20 deer so far for mounting.</p><p>Cook also believes the deer are rutting now.</p><p>“Their necks are swollen up,” he said. “They're in full rut around here.”</p><p>Earlier in the season, deer were feeding mostly on acorns, Cook said. A few deer still have acorns in their stomachs. But beginning about two weeks ago, deer appeared to be drifting toward food plots. Many appear to be eating natural browse as well.</p><p>“Bucks aren't eating much right now,” Cook said. “They've got something else on their mind.”</p><p>Cook also processes hogs and hunters appear to be having good success with them as well, he said.</p><p>Bambarger noticed that the number of bucks brought in picked up during the past week.</p><p>“The rut has started and the cold weather made a big difference,” Bambarger said.</p><p>Deer sizes are good. He processed three does in excess of 150 pounds. A couple of bucks have ranged between 215 and 220 and a couple have had 150-class antlers.</p><p>Most of the deer are being taken in food plots, he said.</p>